Need help moving from NC to MD (Baltimore, Bowie: apartment, rentals)

[eastcoastwanderer]

Originally Posted by htownterp

What about College Park?

I was reading that College Park is good for singles and professionals, but not necessarily for families. What's your take?

[eastcoastwanderer]

Originally Posted by goldenage1

Fyi- Laurel addresses can be in three different counties. Each county runs its own school system, and they differ in quality. That is why people only recommend the parts of Laurel within the Howard County school system.

BTW- Inner Beltway is just what it says, inside the 495 beltway. In Prince George, that means poorer areas like Landover, Suitland, Capital Heights, Bladensburg, Cheverly, etc.

However, I think you should stick with a closer-in area like Silver Spring or Greenbelt. If you could be assigned anywhere in Prince George County, you don't want to have too long a commute. You also don't want to end up living in a rough area.

Please do some searches in the forum, as I remember some threads suggesting Upper Marlboro for schools.

Thanks goldenage1. I will check into Greenbelt. I have looked at reviews of the affordable apartments in Silver Springs, but they seem to get a bad rap. Maybe I will read better responses about Greenbelt, and I hope I can afford them. It's hard trying to find the best option on a limited budget.

[Njrover0216]

PGC is big and has a lot of bad schools. Please make sure you know what you are getting yourself into before you come. Leaving NC to come here to work in PGC is brave. There are a few good areas in PGC but more than likely you are going to work in one of the inner beltway schools. I recommend taking a mini vacation to the area, observe in some of the Title I schools and get a feel of the area. When looking at schools be sure to see which middle school and high schools they attend. One of the biggest problems is that people move to the area thinking that the elementary school is in a good area, only to find out that the middle and high schools are a nightmare. I love the site greatschools.org when I am looking at areas with better schools. Be sure to check the rating, demographics and student make up. Have you considered trying to get a teaching job in Anne Arundel County or another county? PGC and Baltimore are two of the toughest. Good luck!

[Njrover0216]

If I were you I would try to find out your assignment first. It might open your options up. If you rent in Silver Spring and get assigned to Clinton or Fort Washington Area you are looking at a nightmare of a commute! If you get stationed in the south western portion of PGC you could venture over to Marlboro to live. If you get stationed close to RT 50, you could look at Crofton, Davidsonville or other parts of Anne Arundel County. Just a thought. Maybe you can find an apartment that goes month by month until you know?

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by eastcoastwanderer

Thanks goldenage1. I will check into Greenbelt. I have looked at reviews of the affordable apartments in Silver Springs, but they seem to get a bad rap. Maybe I will read better responses about Greenbelt, and I hope I can afford them. It's hard trying to find the best option on a limited budget.

You should realize that many apartment reviews are negative. Don't be scared off by complaints about bugs and rats, as they are inevitable in living in an urban area. You just have to look for signs that the managment is responsive to problems.

I suggest Greenbelt because there are good elementary schools and the Eleanor Roosevelt High School is the best in Prince George.

[MDrenter223]

Originally Posted by eastcoastwanderer

Hi everyone, I am moving to MD in sumer 2014. I will be working for Prince George's County as a teacher, but have no idea where to look for affordable, family friendly neighborhoods. I have searched previous threads, and Bowie, Silver Spring, Laurel, and Takoma Park have come up as great areas to live, but I can't find many apartments in these cities. I have two children who will be in elementary school, so I need a good school district to be in. I will not be placed in a school until later in the summer, so please advise me on an area easily accessible to highways. PGC will try to place me in a school near where I wind up living. Thanks in advance for your tremendous help!!

If you are serious about having a great school system, and living in a safe area, and have a tight budget, please check out Congressional Towers in Rockville MD.

The reviews are horrid, and I suspect the management company put a bunch of fake positives on the website.

A real winner right? Well I had a buddy that lived here (still does) and he hadn't had any problems and from move in to my next relocation was only 6 months so I rolled the dice.

It's a great area, nearly all my neighbors have their PhD's and work in Biotech or at NIH. We are the only Americans on our floor (most families are here on H1B visas), and just about everyone has kids. And everyone is neighborly.

The 2 bedroom unit is ~1700 a month w/utilities and free parking, includes membership to the most legit apartment gym I've ever seen and an amazing pool/mini water park. There is a nice park with a brand new playground just off the complex, metro access two blocks away, and a whole lot of shopping/eating just one block away.

I've had zero issues with any pests, no issues with parking (other than poor snow shoveling consideration).

Montgomery County schools are darn good, and the bus stops just outside of the complex.

It's an old building, so the kitchens are galley style and the bathroom is small, but an amazing gem in the DC region (and it's only 10 minutes past TP on the beltway).

No I am not management.

Yes I would get a referral bonus if you moved in, but I am not going to tell you my name cause this is the internet and that's just creepy.

[TheCaliforniaMarylandPers]

I'm also moving to MD either during the spring or summer. I remember a real estate agent telling us that a town we looked in called Crofton in Anne Arundel County was very close to PG County. Crofton also has excellent schools. (Arundel High, South River High.) The only thing my husband didn't like about Crofton is that the middle schoolers are split between two high schools.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by Njrover0216

If I were you I would try to find out your assignment first. It might open your options up. If you rent in Silver Spring and get assigned to Clinton or Fort Washington Area you are looking at a nightmare of a commute! If you get stationed in the south western portion of PGC you could venture over to Marlboro to live. If you get stationed close to RT 50, you could look at Crofton, Davidsonville or other parts of Anne Arundel County. Just a thought. Maybe you can find an apartment that goes month by month until you know?

It would be nice if she could find out her assignment but it won't likely happen until July 15th at the earliest. The 15th is the technical date tenured teachers have to let their Principals know if they're coming back. So vacancies won't be set until later than that.

I have the feeling you may see a lot of retirements this year, actually the next couple years, due to many teachers hitting 30 years (or more) and having to yet again adapt to a new program (Common Core). There's been no word of buyouts yet but some teachers are kind of waiting that out right now, too.

Also, new teacher assignments aren't usually made until all the transfers, both voluntary and involuntary, are placed so that's another variable.

[eastcoastwanderer]

Hello again everyone. I was just able to visit MD last week, and looked into Bowie, Laurel, and right over the Bowie border into Crofton. I love that Crofton has excellent schools according to great schools.org, and the apartments in Bowie seem to be zoned to poor performing schools. Right now, I will still have the only salary once school starts, and I am trying to figure out if I should focus on Crofton. My question is, is Crofton so good that I should squeeze a family of 5 into a small apartment in order to have my children in good schools?

Ever since my original post, I have been researching, researching, researching, but that doesn't get me very far when I have a limited budget. I might be able to use some savings to offset the cost of the higher rentals in Crofton. Time is passing quickly, and I need to make a decision soon. Any helpful advice is great advice. Please help!!! Thanks!!!

[eastcoastwanderer]

Originally Posted by Njrover0216

If I were you I would try to find out your assignment first. It might open your options up. If you rent in Silver Spring and get assigned to Clinton or Fort Washington Area you are looking at a nightmare of a commute! If you get stationed in the south western portion of PGC you could venture over to Marlboro to live. If you get stationed close to RT 50, you could look at Crofton, Davidsonville or other parts of Anne Arundel County. Just a thought. Maybe you can find an apartment that goes month by month until you know?

Hi Njrover0216,

I thought about a month to month lease, but I figured that would would be a lot for me to handle, since I am coming from a different state. I would have to make an initial move, find storage for all our belongings, keep searching for a new place, and if I find one, move everything all over again. Your suggestion makes sense, but the costs of moving from place to place in a short period of time worry me. Do you have any other suggestions?